The diner: There’s probably nothing more American than an eatery where you can order pretty much any dish you want when you want it and not get flack for it. Whether that’s an egg sandwich at 3 in the morning after a night out with friends, or lunch with the family on a Saturday afternoon, the diner has something for everyone. Early last year, Chef Amanda Freitag, co-host of American Diner Revival on Fridays at 10:30|9:30c, reopened Empire Diner in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. You may recognize the iconic eatery from movies and TV, and that’s because it’s been around since the mid-1940s. Since then it’s gone through quite a few iterations and owners, but it’s possibly never looked better than in the hands of Chef Amanda, who’s taken the classic diner menu and given it a modern twist; it keeps customers coming back for more.

FN Dish recently caught up with the chef to chat about how she came to run the diner, what she loves about the menu and what customers can expect to experience.

With Memorial Day falling on a Meatless Monday, it may seem like there are only two options when it comes to eating at today’s barbecues: 1. Forgo vegetarianism and perhaps embrace a Meatless Tuesday instead. 2. Be relegated to the buffet’s potato and pasta salads simply to maintain a meat-free plate. But it turns out that those aren’t your only choices. You can indeed dig into to a hearty grilled dish at today’s picnic — and at bashes all summer long — by opting for a mushroom burger.

Every bit as hefty as a beef burger, Food Network Kitchen’s Grilled Portobello Burger with Onion Jam (pictured above) boasts the signature charred flavor you crave from grilled meats. And since these earthy portobellos are coated in a garlic-balsamic oil before cooking, they’re full of satisfying flavor too. To round out the mushrooms and add even more bold taste and textures to this between-the-bun creation, pile on the toppings, including soft and sweet honey-laced onions, crisp lettuce, and horseradish-spiked yogurt for a light yet creamy finish.

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As far as sabotages go, one that’s made out of metal, provides stable support for food and stands up well to heat is practically a gift in the eyes of Cutthroat Kitchen rivals. Or at least it likely seemed that way ahead of tonight’s brand-new episode when Alton Brown auctioned off a perforated French loaf bread pan on which one rival would have to cook a croque madame. Since a French loaf pan is a sturdy metal pan that’s indeed meant to be heated, the bread, meat and cheese elements of this classic French sandwich would be doable, but creating the bechamel — a creamy sauce — would prove downright difficult.

Before Alton could feature this sabotage on the show, it had to vetted by the Cutthroat culinary crew, and during the test, food stylist Hugo Sanchez noted his concern about making a liquid sauce in a holey vessel. “That’s going to be an issue here,” he said simply before getting set to tackle the challenge head-on. His solution involved filling the holes by mixing up a pastelike combination of flour and milk, as he explained: “It is sticky. It’s gooey, which is exactly what we want.” After covering the holes with this mixture, he quickly turned the heat on in an effort to bake the paste into the holes, thus closing them once and for all, and ultimately allowing him to use that now-solid surface to create his sauce — and approve the sabotage.

Lots of diners do it: make an advance reservation to eat at a well-regarded restaurant and then, when the date rolls around, opt not to go. Maybe they decide to eat somewhere else. Maybe they have multiple reservations, figuring they’ll go where they feel when the moment hits. Maybe something unavoidable comes up. Sometimes, they don’t even bother to cancel.

But if you make a reservation at the Hong Kong restaurant Sushi Shikon, a three-Michelin-star establishment, you’ll probably want to show up to eat there. If you cancel on the day of your reservation, try to change the date, don’t show up, show up with someone missing from your party or arrive more than an hour late, the restaurant will charge you 3,500 Hong Kong dollars ($452). Even if you give the restaurant a little notice, but cancel less than 72 hours of your seating time, Sushi Shikon will charge you HK $1,250 ($161). In fact, even if you wait just 24 hours from the time you confirm your reservation to cancel, but do so more than 72 hours before your seating time, you’ll still owe a fee of HK $500 ($65), although, according to the South China Morning Post, you are allowed to change the date of your reservation without penalty within that time frame.

While traditional Tater Tots are filled with (what else?) taters and laden in a greasy fried coating, this week’s Most Popular Pin of the Week swaps out potatoes in favor of a lighter filling: cauliflower. By pureeing the vegetable with sauteed onions and a binding mixture, you can form it into two-bite tots. The beauty of this made-over recipe is that even though these snacks are baked, not fried, they don’t lose any of that craveworthy crunch, thanks to a quick dredge in rice cereal before cooking.

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The lettuce wrap has been having a good few years. Lately it seems like every menu features some sort of deliciously spicy chicken or tofu filling tucked into a cool crunchy leaf of lettuce that you roll up like a burrito and eat. Even I’m on #TeamLettuceWrap, as evidenced by this recipe for Turkey Lettuce Wraps (pictured above) from Ten Dollar Dinners!

And in the summer? Lettuce wraps are far more than just a tasty low-carb treat — they can be your catchall leftover repurposing strategy. Simply follow my easy formula for lettuce wrap bliss:

Just in time for Monday’s Memorial Day holiday, the cast of The Kitchen came together to throw the ultimate backyard barbecue on this morning’s all-new episode. Complete with a boozy Long Island iced tea, the co-hosts’ menu boasted classic and creative picks alike, but at the forefront of their cookout were their recipes for two meaty favorites: a juicy burger and saucy ribs. While both are traditional barbecue selects, Katie Lee’s burger and Jeff Mauro’s spare ribs featured next-level elements — a buttermilk-herb dressing for the burgers and a Chinese-inspired glaze for the ribs — that transformed the meats into impressive presentations with satisfying results.

FN Dish wants to know, as you consider your ultimate cookbook plate, both at your Memorial Day gathering and at summer soirees all season long, which of these tried-and-true selects is your favorite? Are you a fan of the beefy goodness that only a cheese-covered patty, piled high with toppings galore, can offer, or do you prefer the tender succulence of hearty ribs? Cast your vote in the poll below to share your preference.

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